Blood and Fire
by Mishirure
Summary: Grunt develops a secret crush on Jack, and tries to find an outlet for his emotions through poetry. Jack/Grunt. Or, as I accidentally said today in the car, 'Junk'.


This little ficlet is part of an art trade with Jasmine Alexandra on deviantART. She photoshopped a gorgeous photo for me of my Shepard and Garrus on the Prisidium, and in return, I wrote this small fic and poem for her. The poem is original, and it is Grunt writing to Jack.

I purposely kept the writing short and a bit choppy, just because I feel that's how Grunt would think about things; everything is in small pieces to him.

* * *

_**Blood and Fire**_

* * *

_Small._

That was Grunt's first impression of her. The way everyone spoke about her, she seemed much bigger, scarier… more like a krogan than a human girl. He didn't even expect her to be a girl. He'd been looking forward to seeing her, though; anyone who liked to fight and fought well when they were angry was someone he could relate to. He respected people like that.

They spoke to the warden of Purgatory, the prison ship. Kuril or Carol or something. Whatever. He was a turian that wasn't part of Shepard's clan. For all Grunt cared, he could go screw himself. And, in typical turian fashion, the bastard warden betrayed them. Well… tricked them. But Grunt was still pissed. He enjoyed killing the guards that tried coming after them. HA. Stupid guards.

They made it to cryo, where they'd release Jack and every other prisoner on the cell block. That made his blood boil with excitement. With all those prisoners running free, there was undoubtedly going to be a riot, and any opportunity to raise a little hell was good in his books. However, the triumphant moment was stalled when they finally saw Jack's identity.

A skinny, bald human girl with lots of markings all over her, wearing nothing but baggy pants and belts to cover her chest. But more importantly:

"Jack is small…" Grunt said, almost disappointed. THIS was the great convict they were supposed to recruit? How the hell was she going to do anything? He was sure that if she held a gun, it would break her arms. His opinion quickly changed, however, when he saw her use her biotics to devastate everyone and everything in her path. Grunt grinned and slammed his fists together. "Let's get down there! I want to see this."

And boy, she didn't disappoint. There was only a path of anger, destruction and chaos in here wake. It was incredible. The closer they got to her, the more Grunt's blood was on fire. Needless to say, he was impressed. She even started yelling at Shepard when they finally found her. He didn't usually admire people, but she was a different case. She was angry and violent and her rage fueled her power. That was good enough for him.

Their time on the Normandy was long. Flying from system to system, jumping through relays, recruiting more people and helping everyone that had problems. Jack and Grunt kept mostly to themselves, but he saw her around every once in a while. He'd been out on a mission with her on one or two occasions when Shepard had called them into action. Though he loved the fighting and relished in every kill, he would take a glance at the tiny biotic girl and was still just as impressed with her as he was the first time he saw her. She was truly a force to be reckoned with.

Over time, he found himself eyeing Jack more and more. When he first realized it, he shook his head, cursing himself. What the hell was he doing? This wasn't something a warrior did, especially not a pure krogan like him. But he couldn't stop it. Despite being so small, something he would ordinarily classify as a weakness, she was so _strong_ and _powerful_. She was unmatched. People cowered before her when she so much as looked at them, and she didn't take crap from anybody.

She set his blood on fire. She caused the flame that sparked in his veins. All he wanted to do was _fight_ with her, for her. She ignited the most primal instincts in him. He wanted to do something for her.

The extranet. It's where he got all of his information. Everything he knew now that he didn't learn from the tank he learned from the extranet. He sat at the terminal for a while, simply staring at the search bar. What was he even looking for? Eventually, he typed:

'human mating rituals'

A lot of it was useless fluff, really… something about 'peacocking', flirting, making yourself vulnerable… pfft, no.

'human affection'

Things like kissing, cuddling, hugging… everything krograns, and probably Jack, _didn't_ do.

'how to express emotion'

Poetry, songs, flowers… Grunt was sure Jack would probably scoff at flowers. Songs? Krogans didn't sing. Poetry? He thought about that for a while before typing poetry into the search bar.

He was given a variety of different styles and writers of poetry. Most were from Earth, but there were also a lot of Quarian and Asari entries, as well. Grunt browsed for a long time, getting a feel for the rhythm and tone he wanted to convey in his writing to Jack. He wanted to do it properly… right. There would be no skimping or cheating. After an hour of research, Grunt finally set to work. He pulled out a data pad and began typing onto the holographic interface.

He decided to call it 'Blood and Fire'.

When I first saw you, I thought you were weak;

_You looked so small and helpless._

_But then you exploded in a furious biotic rage,_

_And I was all but impressed._

_You surprised me,_

_And earned my respect._

_You fill my veins with blood and fire._

_I know how you felt, with all this pent up rage;_

_I would see you fuming in the Mess Hall, hating everything._

_I know how your past was dark and cruel,_

_And I want to help you out._

_I want to go with you,_

_And earn your respect._

_You fill my veins with blood and fire._

_Now when I see you, I get this strange feeling;_

_Like butterflies in my stomach._

_I want to be by your side, fighting with you,_

_Sharing in the blood rage I know we both have._

_There is no one like you._

_I want to be with you,_

_Because you have my respect._

_You fill my veins with blood and fire._

It was short and to the point, and very simple, but Grunt was pleased with his first attempt at writing a poem. It had taken him the better part of a few hours, with many breaks for snacks from the kitchen. Now that he was finished, he held the data pad out in front of him and re-read what he'd written, looking it over for any mistakes. He wondered what Jack would think of it, if she'd like it at all. After all, it was for her.

A sudden nervousness overtook him. He didn't like the feeling; krogan didn't get _nervous. _What was happening to him? He was fearless! He could face any obstacle. He was _krogan_! But he was afraid to give it to her. What if she didn't like it? What if she _laughed_? Grunt stared down at the data pad in his hands, with all of his emotions and feelings laid out plainly. He steeled himself.

And he put the data pad away, hiding it underneath his cot.

It was not something he would show her. This would be just for him. Maybe someday, but for now, it would just be his little secret.


End file.
